Rod spinner



June 30, 1970 J. L. ROBERSON ROD SPINNER Filed Dec. 29. 1967 60 00. J i I I om Q 3. 8 am am am NWQ m N J W; M Mm m M Ji 3,517,575 Patented June 30, 1970 United State a O ROD SPINNER Jessie L. Roberson, Box 605, Kingsland, Tex. 78639 Filed Dec. 29, 1967, Ser. No. 694,641 Int. Cl. B25b 13/00 US. CI. 81-73 4 Claims ABSTRACT or THE DISCLOSURE The apparatus of this invention provides a means for connecting and disconnecting sucker rod connections in conjunction with oil well operations. The apparatus comprises a rotatable crank handle having at one end a fixed connector for connecting to the end of a sucker rod and having at the other end a spring-loaded hanger assembly which is adapted to be suspended from the' derrick and raised or lowered as is necessary in removing or replacing the sucker rods within the well-bore. Rotation of the crank handle provides an easy means for snapping-up or breaking sucker rods.

This invention relates to a tool for connecting or disconnecting a threaded connection and, more particularly, to a rotatable rod spinner for connecting or disconnecting sucker rod connections in oil well operations.

There are many instances in which it is necessary to replace or withdraw a sucker rod string from the bore of an oil well. Present practices normally involve the cooperation of the derrick operator and the floor man. The initial snap-up or breaking of the sucker rods is done by the floor man using two wrenches. One of the wrenches is attached to the bottom of the topmost sucker rod which has been pulled from the well bore by the derrick operator, and the other wrench is fastened to the topmost portion of the adjoining or attached sucker rod. After the connection has been broken, it is necessary for the floor man to unthread the top sucker rod from the bottom sucker rod. Once the connection has been broken the derrick man then lifts the detached sucker rod and stores it in a rack provided on the derrick. When it is necessary to connect the sucker rods the operation is performed in reverse.

The removal or assembly of a string of sucker rods by such means consumes an unnecessary amount of timeand requires a great deal of exertion and cooperation on the part of the floor man and the derrick operator. In accordance with the present invention,- means are provided for considerably simplifying such an operation to the extent that the derrick man alone is able to connect or disconnect a string of sucker rods. Additionally, it is estimated that as much as one-half to one hours time may be saved for a forty-five hundred foot well using the rod spinner in accordance with this invention.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple and improved tool for connecting or disconnecting a string of sucker rods.

In accordance with the present invention, the apparatus comprises a crank 'handle having at one end thereof a Crall transfer which is rigidly attached to the crank handle and a spring-loaded hanger assembly which is threadably fixed to the other end of the crank handle to provide spring tension as the spring-loaded hanger assembly is raised. The derrick operator merely attaches the, Crall transfer to the upper portion of the sucker-rod and while tension is maintained on the spring-loaded hanger assembly the derrick operator will manually rotate the crank assembly to unthread one sucker rod from another. Similarly, when it is desired to connect sucker rods the derrick operator merely lowers the sucker rod onto the sucker rod which is in the well bore and threads the sucker rod by manually rotating the crank assembly. Such an operation not only results in less motion and fatigue but enables the connection or disconnection of the sucker rods to be done by one man, namely, the derrick operator, instead of the usual two men which is required under present practices.

A more detailed description of the invention and the manner in which it is used will be found in the following specification with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: I

FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of the rod spinner;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-section of the spring-loaded hanger assembly and illustrating the manner in which it is connected to the end of the crank assembly; and

FIG. 3 illustrates the manner in which the rod spinner is used to connect or disconnect a string of sucker rods.

As shown in the exploded view of FIG. 1, the rod spinner comprises a crank assembly 12 having a rotatable handle portion 13 mounted to the member connecting the arms of the crank assembly. The upper end of crank assembly 12 is formed in shank 14 having threaded portion 15 at the end thereof. The lower end of the crank handle is fitted with coupling fork 16 having a centrally located hole 17 therein which is provided to accommodate pin 18 for connecting the crank handle to a Crall transfer 40 which is indicated in dotted outline in FIG. 1. Cotter pin or spring-loaded clip 19 is provided to lock pin 18 in coupling fork 17 to attach Crall transfer 40 to the crank handle 12.

Spring-loaded hanger assembly 20 comprises hollow pipe member 21 which has an end cap 22 threadably connected as shown in 'FIG. 1. Hollow member 21 may consist of a one and one-quarter inch diameter pipe cut to a twelve inch length. Ring assembly 23 extends through an opening in cap 22 and provides a means for connecting the rod spinner to a cable such that the whole assembly may be raised or lowered within the derrick. Helical spring 26 is provided within spring-loaded hanger assembly 20 to provide a tension force upon the rod spinner during its operation. Helical spring 26 surrounds stem 24 of ring assembly 23 substantially as shown in FIG. 1.

Coupling 28 is machined to receive bearing 32, snapring fastener 34, and to threadably engage threads 27 of hanger assembly 20. Retaining nut 30 affords a means for locking crank assembly 12 to spring-loaded hanger assembly 20. Spacer sleeve member 36 and washer 38 are also provided to accommodate the mounting of coupling member. 28 and spring-loaded hanger assembly 20 to crank handle assembly 12.

The enlarged cross-section view of a portion of the rod spinner shown in FIG. 2 further illustrates the manner in which the rod spinner is assembled. Washer 38 is slipped over end portion 14 of crank handle 12 to provide a bearing surface for snap fastener 34. Bearing 32 is then positioned on end portion 14 and locked into position by retainer nut 30. The bearing, retainer nut and end portion 14 are then inserted into coupling member 28 and locked into position with snap-ring fastener 34. Coupling 28 is then screwed onto threads 27 of hanger assembly 20. In this manner the upper end portion 14 of crank handle 12 is fixedly mounted to springloaded hanger assembly 20. It is evident that this assembly is free to rotate about stem 24 of spring-loaded hanger assembly 20 by means of bearing 32.

FIG. 3 illustrates the manner in which the rod spinner according to this invention is used to connect or disconnect one sucker rod from another. It will suffice to describe the operation whereby sucker rods are disconnected since the connection of sucker rods is done in the same steps but in reverse order. The rod spinner 10 is lowered by means of cable 42, which is attached to ring assembly 23, onto the top portion of sucker rod 44. Crall transfer 40 is then slipped over the upper por tion of the suckerv rod and locked into position by the.

derrick operator. Suitable tension is maintained on rod spinner by the derrick operator and by grasping rotatable handle 13 the derrick operator simply rotates rod spinner 10 so as to disengage threaded connection 45 between sucker rods 44 and 46. When the threaded connection is broken, the derrick operator raises the rod spinner and sucker rod 44 to a storage rack on the derrick and when the sucker rod is placed in the storage rack the Crall transfer 40 is disconnected from the sucker rod. The operation is continued until the string of sucker rods in Well bore 48 is completely removed and disassembled.

Although the operation whereby sucker rods are connected is quite apparent from the foregoing description of the manner in which they are disconnected, it is Worthwhile to mention the fact that the use of the rod spinner in accordance with this invention to connect sucker rods ofiers the advantage of providing a means for connecting the threaded portions of the sucker rods such that they are not damaged. In present practice, it is sometimes customary to use a power tool to spin one threaded sucker rod portion onto another threaded sucker rod portion. Often the threads will be completely stripped or sheared away should the two sucker rods be misaligned such that activation of the power tool to rotate one sucker rod with respect to the other causes the threads to be scored or damaged beyond repair. The rod spinner enables the derrick man to insure that the threaded portions of the sucker rods are in alignment prior to 3 rotating the crank handle to engage the threaded members.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the above description of the one embodiment shown in the accompanying figures. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that other equivalent means may be substituted for the various parts of the rod spinner which result in essentially the same cooperation of parts and which achieve the same advantageous results as the rod spinner described above. For example, other means than helical spring 26 may be used to provide the necessary tension for the rod spinner. Other suitable means may also be incorporated to fixedly attach the crank assembly to the spring-loaded hanger assembly. Therefore, in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, numerous equivalent components could be used without departing from the spirit of the scope of the invention. Those novel features believed descriptive of the scope and the nature of the invention are defined with particularity in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for connecting or disconnecting sucker rod connections, comprising:

'4 rotatable means for generating a rotary motion about the longitudinal axis of the apparatus, the rotatable means including connecting means mounted at one end thereof for attaching the rotatable means to a sucker rod. suspension means mounted in rotatable engagement with the other end of the rotatable means for connecting the rotatable means to a derrick, said suspension means including tensioning means for providing tension between the rotatable means and the suspen sion means, i 1

said rotatable means includes a U-shaped crank having a handle mounted on the member connecting the arms of the crank, the handle is rotatable on the connecting member,

whereby the rotation of the rotatable means provides a threading or unthreading of the threaded connection between sucker rods depending upon the direc tion of rotation imparted to the rotatable means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the the suspension means includes a hollow cylindrical member having at one end thereof connecting means for attaching the apparatus to a derrick,

said suspension means further includes a coupling member, the coupling member including retaining means and bearing means engageable with the retaining means, the coupling member further including locking means,

the bearing means, the other end portion of the rotatable means, and

the locking means retaining the bearing means within the coupling member and connecting the rotatable means to the suspension means.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the tensioning means consists of a helical spring mounted Within the hollow cylindrical member.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the locking means includes a retaining nut engageable with the threaded portion of the rotatable means and further including a snap-ring fastener engageable with the retaining means of the coupling member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,579,593 4/1926 Bowman 8157.24 2,651,533 9/1953 Miller 2879l 2,476,3 64 7/ 1949 Gaines 81-73 1,444,876 2/ 1923 Hanson 287-91 X JAMES L. JONES, 111., Primary Examiner 

